Munch Knows
by Stablerfan
Summary: Set before the Key to the Truth.**parody.** He couldn't be sure whether Olivia really *was* Olivia... he had to talk to her to find out the truth - and discover whether they were all victims of widespread mind control or whether...and this theory unsettled him the most; Olivia Benson was actually a pod person.
1. Chapter 1

**This story tells the murky tale of how the Puppet Master, unknown to our detectives at this point, rewrote history. It is set before The Key to the Truth and will be two chapters long. Inspired by various interviews that I tortured myself in reading for the purpose of this story. Honestly** _ **;**_ **the background reading was hard going.**

 **Disclaimer - not mine as things would be a whole lot different if it were.**

 **November 2011**

Munch knew. Munch _always_ knew what was really going on. The trouble is, nobody listened, and with what he was on to now, he doubted they were going to _start_ listening now. It was a crazy theory, if they shook their heads at some of the other well researched theories he held, there was just _no_ way that they would believe this.

He debated how to broach his theories with Olivia, 'Hey Liv, ever watched the Twilight Zone?' Perhaps 'Remember Invasion of the Body Snatchers'..or the more direct, 'Are you in fact a pod person?' might be the best opener.

He couldn't be sure whether Olivia really _was_ Olivia... he had to talk to her to find out the truth - and discover whether they were all victims of widespread mind control or whether...and this theory unsettled him the most; Olivia Benson _was_ actually a pod person.

He glanced around the squad room apprehensively, feeling paranoid and suspicious, but realised to his relief that they were alone; he had to pick his moment, having no idea who might be involved and even if the squad room was bugged. Deciding to take the risk, he leaned forward, watching Olivia with curiosity.

"Hey Liv?" he whispered, the secretive tone of his voice causing her to look up.

"Yeah Munch?" she replied happily.

"You hear from Elliot?"

She paused, a flash of familiarity crossing her face before her expression changed to one of slight confusion.

"Elliot?" she asked,with a puzzled, questioning tone to her voice.

"Yes _Elliot_ , your best friend and partner of over twelve years, the person you hold a deep emotional _mutual_ co-dependence with (I read your psych file…) ...have you spoken to him since the shooting in May?"

"Nope!" she casually replied.

Munch sighed and stood up, walking over to her desk and sitting on the edge, leaning down slightly to speak to her.

"You don't think that's strange?" he whispered with a conspiratorial tone.

"Strange? What do you mean? Why would it be strange?" she asked.

"Olivia, it's been six months since you spoke to him?" Munch asked, "Why haven't you gone to see him?"

Olivia frowned, looking confused, "I left him a message but he hasn't called back," she shrugged.

"You left him a message...and _you haven't tried to contact him since_? **For six months?** " Munch said, " _Olivia_ , can't you see that something is wrong here?

"Wrong?" she replied, confused, "The only thing wrong was that I thought I mattered to him, but he didn't return my calls. I was clearly nothing to him, so he cut me out of his life in a cold and callous way. I mean, I couldn't even make _decisions_ without him; it's like... I can reboot my life now!" she paused, smiling.

Munch frowned, watching her intently as he silently assessed her words.

"I can be happy and live a whole new life! Finally!" Olivia said as she stood up, an overjoyed expression suddenly taking over from the confusion she wore, "I feel... _sort of free_...like something was holding me back, but now - _I can do anything_!"

"Olivia, nothing you just said made any sense! I think I know what's happening here, but if nobody believes me then this will only get worse," he sighed, "hear me out Liv, OK?"

Olivia raised an eyebrow and shook her head, "Ok John, what do you think is going on then? Government plot to steal identities? Alien abductions? What is it this time?"

"Oh, there is a plot Olivia, but it's far more sinister than anything I have researched before...our minds are being altered...and _you_ are being affected the most."

Olivia laughed and shook her head, "wow that really tops your crazy theories Munch."

As she grabbed her jacket and turned to leave Munch gripped her arm causing her to turn and frown. "What is it? Don't tell me you really believe this?"

" _Olivia_ , somebody is trying to destroy Elliot, and change history, rewriting the past! Making you think he was stopping you from living your life - they are changing our memories and hitting you the hardest...you haven't even gone to see him Liv...can't you see how abruptly out of character you are acting?"

Olivia stared at him in disbelief, "wow, _mind control_ Munch? You seriously believe this? I think you'd better talk to Cragen about a psych evaluation of your own!"

Munch sighed and dropped his hand from her arm in defeat.

"Olivia - Elliot Stabler has disappeared under a strange cloud of disbelief, and you are not even questioning it, you are not even concerned about him!"

"This is insane Munch - _you_ are insane, i'm going home," said Olivia shaking her head as she turned and began to walk away.

"Olivia!" Munch called, "just one more thing, ok?"

Olivia sighed and stopped, turning around to face him as he walked toward her.

"Ok what?" she said.

"Who is Elliot Stabler?" he said simply.

Olivia looked baffled, "Why?"

"Prove to me that you _are_ Olivia Benson," he said.

Olivia laughed but her smile soon faded when she realised the grave expression on Munch's face.

"Jesus Munch, you think i'm what? A clone?"

 _Munch took a mental note to discuss the clone theory with his ex wife when he checked in with her later._

"Who is Elliot Stabler _?_ " Munch repeated.

" _Ok_ , if it'll get you to leave me alone, but you are really losing it Munch," she said, irritated.

Munch stared at her intently, awaiting her response while mentally assessing the likelihood of her being a clone, and wondering where the real Olivia Benson might be stashed.

"Elliot Stabler is a detective, umm...he...he... _damn it,_ why is this hard?"

Munch sighed, "I'm not certain, but I don't _think_ you're a pod person Liv. I do think you are a victim of mind control however - your memories are being altered, we have to act now to stop this and find Elliot!"

Olivia laughed, but Munch could tell his words were slightly unsettling to her.

"This is crazy Munch, you know that right?" she said quietly, glancing around to check noone else had heard him.

"Olivia," Munch continued, unperturbed by her disbelief, "Elliot Stabler…. _who is he to you_?" Munch asked.

"Just someone I worked with, but he's gone now," she shrugged.

Munch felt his eyes widen in shock, "Olivia, how do you feel about him leaving?"

"Fine...no actually great! I have three dates lined up this month, and now noone can stop me going on them and meeting someone and being happy and having babies!" she smiled.

"Elliot didn't stop you doing any of that, your crazy work schedule did!"

"All that will change now Elliot has left!" Olivia exclaimed happily.

"Think about what you're saying, it's madness - how can Elliot leaving change the impact of your working hours on your love life, or the likelihood of you having a baby?"

"He wanted me to be unhappy Munch, and now I am SO happy, it's like my life has turned a new wonderful page - it was black and white, but now everything is in colour!"

 _Munch shook his head, Olivia may not be a pod person,_ _ **although he had not totally discounted that theory,**_ _but her mind had been affected far too greatly, she would never hear him out. This was bad, and Munch was certain that he was the only person left who could see what was really happening._

 **In chapter 2 - Munch talks to Fin even though Fin isn't really listening, and we see how truly obsessed and power crazy the Puppet Master is. Will anybody ever take Munch seriously?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer - not mine. Figured as it was finished I would put both chapters straight up.**

Munch sat in the bar next to his partner, ignoring the fact that Fin was probably only half listening to him. Someone had to hear him out - someone had to put a stop to this situation.

"So I don't think Olivia is actually a clone - but she was the one who said that word first, so I can't totally reject that theory. Someone is really messing with her though - with all of us..I mean no one seems to care where Elliot is, or if he's ok - nobody has checked up on him!" Munch exclaimed.

Fin sighed and turned to Munch slowly shaking his head, "Olivia's. Not. A. Clone."

"Maybe not, but you can't deny that there is some serious mind control going on - maybe it's an experiment - someone is observing us all like lab rats…" Munch began.

"MUNCH! You need to take some personal time, you're losing it," Fin said, losing his patience.

"My ex wife has been helping me research this….she thinks that someone is in control of us all - pulling our strings so to speak. She thinks this person has sinister plans. Think about it, Elliot left so suddenly, no one, not even Olivia went to see him - how do we know he's even alright? I'd like to think if I dropped off the face of the earth someone would bother checking up on me.."

"Yeah, good luck with that, i'm not chasing around after your sorry ass. Look, Stabler left, Liv is happy now, end of," Fin said.

"They've got to you too Fin," Munch said, shaking his head in disbelief. "She discounted her whole relationship with him Fin! We know what kind of relationship they had - it's not right. Someone is putting thoughts into her head - changing her memories - the past 12 years don't seem to matter anymore!" Munch said in frustration. "We need to figure out who is doing this, and stop it."

Fin emptied the remainder of his beer bottle and placed it down on the table, sighing as he tried to stop himself from picking up the phone and having Munch committed.

"So find Elliot, go talk to him."

"That's just it Fin," sighed Munch, " _I can't remember where he lives_ ….whoevers doing this is starting to get to me too...It's like i'm hardly here anymore….like they are trying to silence me. Cragen won't tell me Elliot's address - he looked at me like I had lost my mind, but I think in reality, he doesn't remember either. It's like Elliot Stabler is being wiped from our minds. Can't you see? Nobody remembers how to contact him?"

In the shadows of his lair, the Puppet Master reclined in his comfortable chair, smiling an evil smile in the way that only an evil super villain can smile.

"Oh yes Munch," he said, "you are the only one who remembers, but I am getting to you next - soon you will move on, forgetting Elliot Stabler and your theories of mind control."

He stared at the screen in front of him, and began laughing a maniacal laugh, that only a truly insane person could manage.

" _This world is mine now, and I will reshape it anyway that I want to. I am the master of worlds! I can rewrite history and noone can stop me!" he laughed maniacally._

 **May 2015**

 **SECRET LAIR**

Lurking in his murky underground lair, the Puppet Master sat back in his chair as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. It was perfect - absolute perfection. Olivia had spoken the words with genuine belief - he had succeeded totally in convincing her that Elliot never loved her, that he had stopped her from living her life, and had been nothing short of selfish. She believed that their relationship had been a one way street; something she needed to recover from - she had forgotten everything! His plan had executed brilliantly, and with Munch out of the way there was no one to question reality, nobody left who could stop his dastardly plan.

 _Elliot Stabler would be nothing but a distorted memory by the time he had finished with him._

He eased himself forward, his hands moving to the keys on the keyboard in front of him. His keyboard; the source of his power, the centrepiece of his secret lair.

His upgrade had been a success but he knew there were still some who refused to accept the upgrade, still believing in Detective Stabler.

They were less now, fewer in their number than when he had begun, but sometimes, when he spoke his all powerful, all knowing, amazing words, they would rise up speaking of Elliot, and of the history he tried hard to erase... and that angered him, but he would quickly unleash his upgraded loyal overzealous army, hoping that their voices would be lost in the excited hysteria that surrounded him.

Brainwashing - it was brilliant and effective, executed with a frightening ease. People were easy to control - believing what they saw and heard with little question. Munch had been his main concern, but eventually he had got to him. Convincing Munch that he needed to move on had been the safest course of action though - Munch was too inquisitive, too smart, and in time he would have been sure to uncover something.

He had enhanced his power and began to use widespread mass mind control - very few knew who Elliot was anymore, most believed that he was abusive, uncaring, even violent, that Olivia's every accomplishment was down to his absence.

It was perfect. He could stop now.

Yet he couldn't. For some reason, he just couldn't stop - he had to go further. He couldn't risk his power over their minds waning, he needed to know that their minds were clouded by his distortions. Laughing, he began to type, taking another blow at Elliot.

He couldn't help it. He was obsessed.

"My empire!" he laughed evilly, "It's all mine! I created it all! ha ha ha!...well I didn't really, but every success is down to me! **All me**! _I rule this world_!"

 **SQUAD ROOM**

 **TWO AND A HALF MONTHS LATER**

Carisi sat at his desk, glancing round the shiny new squad room. It had been a quiet night and he didn't mind being the one to man the desk, it was almost morning, and the night had passed completely uneventfully.

Naturally, the phone rang.

'Special Victims,' he said.

'...Who am I speaking with?'

'Detective Carisi, can I help you?'

'I need to speak with Fin urgently, is he there?'

'No, it's just me tonight who is this?'

'Munch, John Munch. I need to speak to Fin, I have something vitally important to tell him...but I doubt he will believe me..it is far too strange and mysterious...'

'Munch...yeah, i've heard of you...Well..you wanna run it by me?' Carisi asked, instantly engaged by the urgency and excitement in Munch's voice.

'OK, but be warned this a strange and disturbing tale which many will find impossible. It is a story of mind control on a massive scale, of a decent, honest, loyal person whose very life has been rewritten. None of us are safe Carisi, but I have uncovered the truth and I have to make Olivia see that a terrible crime has been committed against someone she doesn't even remember was an important part of her life for so long. Tell me Carisi...has anyone ever mentioned Detective Stabler?'

'No? I don't think I have ever heard that name, who is he?' Carisi said.

Munch sighed, 'Olivia's ex partner?'

'Oh yes! I overheard her talking to Nick about him when we had drinks at her apartment a few nights ago - I got the impression he was a right bastard, must have been - she was partnered with him for what? Twelve years or something? And she could only say that she didn't know what their relationship was...? I stopped listening in after she said that, I felt bad for her - I mean he stopped her having a family for that whole time! '

'Do not believe what you hear about him - _question everything_ _Carisi_...people have been brainwashed - Elliot is not who you think he is - he is a good person, and nobody else remembers that. _Help me_...I need to dig up as much as I can..'

'I'll help! Mind control huh? Is that a real thing then?' Carisi asked, riveted as he hung on to every fascinating word of Munch's revelation.

'It certainly is, and the people you work with are all seriously affected by it. ..it won't be long before you succumb to this too, but while you still have the ability to question and hear me out then hope remains...listen to me, we can change things, but I need your help...'

 _Carisi knew of John Munch, and he was secretly quite excited to be talking to him._

'Tell me what you know about Elliot Stabler...'

'He wouldn't let Olivia have her her own life, something about not being able to have a baby while Elliot was her partner, and her life is SO positive now that he isn't a part of it. She can go out on dates now because Elliot can't stop her...'

Munch sighed, 'This is worse than I feared. Carisi, you have to help me uncover the truth. Her job was the main issue with her relationships and now that she has been promoted, she has even _more_ responsibility - that makes a social life harder, not easier! I have some leads I need to follow - help me and we can reveal the truth about what is going on here.'

'Erm..sure ok, what do you need me to do?'

Carisi and Munch spoke long into the night as Munch revealed the fantastical story of mind control on a global scale, manipulation and egotism. Carisi hung on to his every word, his eyes widening as Munch spoke of an alternative theory that he was _almost_ certain could be ruled out; a covert government experiment, cloning people...

'So, you're saying that Sergeant Benson could be a clone and the real Benson is...in some government research base? And the government didn't successfully clone Elliot Stabler so they had to abduct him?' Carisi summarised, totally freaked out.

'I have almost discounted that theory, but I won't totally rule it out just yet - but one thing is for sure, somebody is out there, watching us all and doing their best to discredit and smear Elliot Stabler's reputation, but more than that; they want to erase everything that he was - this person has to be stopped, and nobody else will listen to me….so it's down to you and me detective Carisi…'

As he ended the call Carisi tensed as he heard the sound of the lift doors opening. He sat frozen as he watched Olivia walk into the squad room. She paused frowning as she saw the completely freaked out expression on his face.

'Carisi? You ok?" she asked, puzzled.

'Yeah, i'm fine,' Carisi replied, Munch's words swimming in his mind, even though he said he had all but discounted his government cloning theory...could she in fact, be a clone? Munch had been pretty convincing on the phone after all.

'Go home, you look like you could use some sleep," Olivia said as she frowned, taking in Carisi's nervous demeanour.

Carisi practically jumped up, and Olivia watched in confusion as he practically ran toward the stairs, not even taking the time to stop and wait for the elevator.

Olivia shook her head in confusion as she walked toward her office, but soon forgot about Carisi's strange behaviour as she sat at her desk, her gaze falling on a framed photo of Noah.

She smiled happily, thinking how perfect her life was now...and her mind drifted to how different it had been...so many years where she had been desperately unhappy, alone, used, hurt, a hollow well of despair and emptiness, but now her life had finally began to start, she was finally happy, finally able to…

Olivia suddenly gasped, her thoughts interrupted as out of the fog of confusion filling her mind, a scene leaped out from her deeply repressed memory….she froze, confused by the words seeming to play inside her head….

 _'You know, you'd make a great mom.'_

 _'Oh, my God, I'm not having this conversation...'_

 _'You're great with kids.'_

 _'Yeah, I know.'_

 _'Look, maybe you should start thinking about having kids. And any way you wanna do it I'd support you..'_

 _'Elliot, do me a favor.'_

 _'What?'_

 _'Shut up and drive.'_

Olivia blinked, trying to shake the strange scene from her mind.

"If only Elliot had really said that. If only he had cared about me and wanted to support me like that, thank God he left so my life could start," she said, shaking her head as she tried to clear the strange thoughts of Elliot caring about her from her mind.

The Puppet Master paced angrily in his lair - she had remembered something, and it infuriated him. He would have to take things a step further - if Olivia's memory was returning, this would have to be the year he finally defeated detective Stabler…

 **Now read the Key to The Truth, so we can defeat the Puppet Master and get Elliot back!**


End file.
